This vehicle should be taken into GRA’s warehouse

May 18, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
Thank you for the publication of my letter in Wednesday’s issue captioned, “GRA has to explain this totally unacceptable situation.” I would like to take up from where that missive left off. But first I must say that Kaieteur News must be congratulated for its continued vigilance in the interest of the public transparency on the part of Government. The newspaper, however, may have overlooked an angle in its reporting of the duty free concession on a motor vehicle imported by the Head of Customs of the Guyana Revenue Authority.
It was reported that a vehicle of that description and engine capacity, if imported without a duty free concession, would attract duties of over $6 million. If a duty free concession was granted, the requisite duties would have been $1.8 million. However, it was reported that the importer, in this case, only paid $184,917. The only way that this amount could have represented the taxes payable was if the importer was a remigrant enjoying remigrant status and thereby eligible for duty free concession.
Did the Kaieteur News therefore overlook the possibility that the Head of Customs may have been granted remigrant status? Such status, as a form of control, can only be granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but would require that the person had to have lived overseas for a specified number of years and would have had to claim the concession within a certain period.If the Head of Customs was not granted a duty free concession as a public official, then the taxes to be paid would be in excess of 6 million dollars and not 1.8 million dollars. All of this assumes however that authorization was granted for the importation of a vehicle in excess of eight years old.
Further since the head has allegedly committed fraud on a motor vehicle, it will attract triple the duties as a fine and seizure of the motor vehicle. This means the customs head will be required to pay 18 million dollars as taxes and penalties. The vehicle should be deposited in GRA’s warehouse pending the outcome and payment.
Sasenarine Arjune Persaud

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